If One Steps into the Gentle Darkness
by Silverleaf Ishtar
Summary: Being the Herald of Gentle Darkness sure was hard work, even without a new power manifesting on a daily basis.  And just where did Judai land himself this time? "You'd think Flying would be the first in Traveling, right?"
1. If One Steps into the Gentle Darkness

Title: If One Steps into the Gentle Darkness

Genre: Adventure/Humor

Summary: Being the Herald of Gentle Darkness sure was hard work, even without a new power manifesting on a daily basis. And just where has Judai landed himself this time? _"What? That was me? But I thought it was always you, Yubel!"_

Note: Disclaimer at the end!

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**Chapter One: If One Steps into the Gentle Darkness**

"Judai, enemy coming in from six o'clock!" Yubel's urgent warning was duly noted by the running boy, who put on an extra burst of speed at the spirit's words. Jumping over a low shrubbery, his bag slamming against his knee with a _yowl_ that could only belong to Pharaoh, the brunette sprinted towards the encroaching darkness of the center of the abandoned park; a darkness that beckoned with promises of safety.

"How long 'till we lose them, Yubel?"

"At this rate, a very long time. They might even catch us."

"Can we lose them in the trees?"

"Depends on how thick the trees are?"

"Even in the darkness?"

"You forget, Judai; you are the only one without a flashlight."

"I can see perfectly well in the darkness!"

"That's beside the point."

A gunshot sounded behind them.

Swerving instinctively, Judai began to run in a zigzag, careful to stop his bag from bouncing more than it should, before he dove into the forest that sprang up in front of them, "Oh, boy. They are bringing out the big guys, it seems."

"More running, less talking!" Yubel snapped as she materialized to fly besides him, "and send Hane Kuriboh or someone to scout ahead!"

"Roger that!" Fumbling to take out his cards while running at full speed, he held up the furry monster's card, "Hane Kuriboh o shoukan!"

"_Kurii!"_

"Oi, aibou, mind helping us out of this pinch?"

"_Kuri kuri!"_

"Alright! Map us the perfect route to get out of here! Make it as confusing as you can."

With a last _kuri_, the little fur ball with wings flew ahead, his light guiding the boy and his soul-spirit.

Another gunshot sounded closer this time, accompanied by confused shots as the Chasers entered the dark forest.

"It seems like the trees were thick enough, ne, Yubel?" Judai grinned cheekily at his winged-mate.

"We are not out of danger yet, Judai! Keep your guard up." But Yubel dematerialized anyway, as there was no immediate danger.

"Yes, ma'am!...sir?...ummm, Yubel-sama?"

"Oh, shut up!"

_Hmm, what are you saying? That you are confused? You want to know how Judai ended up in this position? Well, dear Readers, lets rewind a little, to approximately 3 hours ago, when Judai was still traveling around the world, on his duties as the Herald of Gentle Darkness, going to wherever he needed to be, whenever he was needed. At this particular point in time, Judai was on an Unnamed Island somewhere in the Pacific, just offshore of Peru, and being chased down by, yes you've guessed it, a group of natives with sharp weapons and the occasional gun._

"I can't believe our luck!" Yubel yelled in Judai's mind, "This is the third time within the past 2 days we have been chased by mobs out to get us! This has never happened before; usually people don't even notice our presence until after we've done our meddling, and everything's back to normal again, so what's going on!"

"I won't necessarily call it meddling, Yubel." Judai chuckled in his mind while running on the small island, parallel to a looming forest that seemed quite foreboding, with the soft sand slipping beneath his sneakered feet, and a bundle of cat in his arms that was being surprisingly quite. Natives yelling in a tongue he did not understand pursued him, determined to chase him out of their island and into the sea, where he would inevitably drown, if he was any other person except the Supreme King. "'Cause if you say that, then there is actually a good reason why they are chasing us."

"But my point is, usually no one notices you until we have fixed everything! And in my opinion, this island really needs fixing! Have you noticed the Nothingness encroaching on the shores? The Sea is going to drown these people if they don't leave or unless we do something!"

"But that's what I don't understand, Yubel. The Nothingness was always there, of course, but it never moved this fast before. I am sure these people knew about the rising sea levels, and were preparing for it, but even now, the Nothingness is approaching fast, as though determined to wipe these people out within the year! And did you notice, the Nothingness was like that, too, in the last few places we visited."

"Well, we might have been able to figure that out, if these people allowed us to snoop around a bit, but noooo, they are chasing us as if the devil itself is on their tails. And those mobs from the mainland places were no better, if not worse!"

"All I'm saying is that this is really strange!" Judai muttered as he adjusted Pharaoh in his arms, the cat slowly losing the hard-earned patience it had gained from traveling with Judai so much.

"Psst!"

Judai ran past the tall tree before noticing the young girl waving discreetly to him from behind it. Judai quickly backtracked, running to the girl before the rest of the mob rounded the corner of the island.

"Come, and follow me!" The girl was no more than 11 or 12, but there was an air of wisdom that made Judai trust her instantly. The girl dove into the underbrush, traveling at a brisk pace. Judai followed as silently as he could, occasionally glancing around him. Pharaoh started to grow restless after a while, and jumped down from Judai's arms, ambling off to do whatever it is that cats do when they are bored. Sleep, most probably.

"Oi, Pharaoh!"

"Do not worry," the girl said, still walking at a relentless pace, "the Forest will not harm him. Just follow me, and everything will be clear."

Soon, they entered a clearing with multiple pillars surrounding it, and a beam of sunshine that hit the tallest pillar in the middle of the clearing.

The girl turned around, facing Judai with a frown. Judai stopped as well, watching her warily; he wasn't scared, because that feeling of trust was still present, but he definitely wanted to be on his guard anyway. Just in case.

"You are really late, Herald Yuki Judai."

Yubel instantly materialized, ready to attack. Judai held her back with a hand, "Why do you say that, Priestess?"

"We were expecting you 2 days ago, right after that Disturbance."

"Disturbance? You mean that weird rippling effect…wave…thing…"

"Yes, precisely. We thought you were bound to come here before the Disturbance took root and fix everything, but you have arrived too late."

"Ummm, sorry to seem rude, but why would I come to this island after the Disturbance? From what I can see, the Disturbance had a wide-spread effect on the entire world!"

The girl sighed, "Because we can actually tell you the Source of the Disturbance and give you information on how to fix it!"

"Oh."

"Yes, oh." the girl sighed again, "Now, listen closely to what I am about to tell you, Yuki Judai, for this information concerns the fate of the world, not only as we know it, but as we knew it, and as we will know it."

The girl took a deep breath, and turned towards the center of the clearing, "Do you remember, when you were in Italy about a month or so back?"

"You mean the Paradox Incident?" Yubel cut in.

"Yes, the Paradox Incident. This Disturbance is tightly woven with that incident. You remember when Paradox said that Duel Monsters will destroy the world as we know it?"

"Yes, but the future is constantly changing; no one can be sure how everything will play out, right?"

"True, but Paradox did not mention that it was Synchro Monsters who will destroy the world in his timeline."

"Synchro Monsters?" Judai asked with a deer-caught-in-the-head-lights-look, "What are those?"

"A new type of Duel Monsters that should be created as we speak," the girl tilted her head as she stared at him intensely, "very like your Contact Fusion, I'd say. I would even say that it was inspired by Contact Fusion."

Judai blinked as he tried to imagine Contact Fusion on a large scale, "O..kay? But that still does not explain the Disturbance? Unless Paradox caused it? But I thought…"

"No, it does not explain the Disturbance," the girl cut in, "but Paradox is actually part of a larger Organization called Yliaster. The goal of Yliaster is to change the past so that the future will be safe from destruction. Paradox acted by himself, but his goals were the same. However, he failed when the 3 Legendary Duelists defeated him, and he went back to his own time, where eventually he died."

"What! He… died? Just like that?"

"Everyone dies eventually, Yuki Judai; even the Supreme King has experienced death."

Judai opened his mouth to speak, while Yubel hissed in indignation, but the girl suddenly held up a hand, "Stop. I do not want anymore interruptions before I am done speaking. This information cannot wait any longer."

Judai reluctantly closed his mouth, and pouted. The girl inwardly sighed at the immaturity of the Herald of Gentle Darkness, "As I was saying, Yliaster is an organization set on changing the past, and the Disturbance we felt 2 days ago is actually a Ripple in Time if you will, a sign that Change has occurred in the fabric of the Universe. And before you interrupt, yes, this Ripple is the main reason why the Nothingness is moving faster than usual."

"So, Yliaster meddled in the Past again?" Yubel asked, "They somehow changed something, and they are pushing the destruction of the world closer and closer?"

"Yes, and no." the girl said ambiguously, "Yliaster's actions have changed the past, but for us, it's the future, or rather the present. They have stopped the creation of Synchro Monsters. As I was saying before, 2 days ago should have been the first time Synchro Monsters made their appearance in the world. But the agents of Yliaster have somehow stopped it, and erased all traces of Synchro Monster in this timeline. While the Synchro Monsters did eventually destroy the world in Yliaster's timeline, the Synchro Monsters were also the key to keeping the encroaching Nothingness back, and that is true for All Timelines."

"So, what am I suppose to do?" After hearing all of this, Judai was still clueless.

"Well, isn't it obvious, Judai? You'll have to Time Travel or something to change the Past." Yubel sighed at Judai's cluelessness.

"Actually, all the signs point at you going to Japan instead." The girl interrupted this time, "it seems what you seek shall be in Japan. If you get there within the next 12 hours, all shall be answered."

"Next 12 hours?" Judai yelped, "But I am still on an island in the middle of nowhere! Being chased down by a mob of people that looks as if they want to kill me. How am I supposed to fly to Japan if I can't even get off this island?"

It was the girl's turn to look at him weirdly. "How did you get here in the first place?"

"Hmmm, by boat?"

"There have been no boats from this island to the mainland since 2 days ago."

"Yubel flew me over?"

"I did no such thing!"

"But I just remember waking up this morning, on this island! This has been happening ever since I started traveling around the world. I'd settle down at a place, and sleep or take a nap or something, and when I wake up, I am always in a different place that needed my help or something!"

Yubel almost smacked herself on her forehead, before she remembered that she had talons for hands and a third eye right in the middle of said forehead, "That was you Judai!"

"What? That was me? But I thought it was always you, Yubel!"

"No, no, no. That was not me. I did not fly you anywhere every time you fell asleep, Judai! That was part of your Supreme King/Herald of Darkness powers! It is part of Traveling, Space Distortion Traveling, I'd say."

"Huh?" Judai looked dumbfounded, "I had such a cool power and you never told me, Yubel?"

"I thought you knew!" Yubel sighed, "After all, that was the first power to ever manifest itself in this life time."

"But why did it happen all the time while I was asleep?"

"Because you still have no control over your powers. Basically, the Traveling is manifesting itself whenever you don't have consciousness."

"Okay, stop!" the girl was rubbing a hand on her forehand; it seems that Judai's complete idiocy was giving her a big headache, "Now that you know how you can Travel out of here, please do, before the mob finds us."

"But Pharaoh…!"

"Meow."

"Oh, there you are Pharaoh!"

"Now that you have your _cat_, Herald, get out of here!"

"Okay, okay! Geez." Judai backed away from the now irate girl. He closed his eyes, face scrunched up, trying to concentrate. Yubel disappeared once again, into Judai's soul. After 3 seconds where nothing happened, Judai opened his brown eyes, and chuckled sheepishly, "How am I suppose to do this again?"

"Just concentrate, Judai." Yubel said in his mind.

"I am concentrating! It's not doing anything at all!"

"Stop whining!" the girl yelled at him.

"But…!"

Suddenly they heard loud voices echoing around the forest. It was the mob, and this time they sounded really angry.

"Oh, for the sake of all that's holy…!" the girl groaned, as she started to shake Judai, "get out of here now! Can't you hear what they are saying?"

"Umm, no? Am I supposed to understand this language? It sounds nothing like Japanese."

Once again, the girl looked at him weirdly, "You mean you can't? Never mind, just get out of here! They are going to try to kill you now, since trying to drive you away and into the ocean was obviously not working."

"Kill me!" Judai paled considerably.

"Less talking, Judai," Yubel ordered within his mind, "More concentrating!"

Judai once again squeezed his eye shut, his heart going about a million miles per hour. The sounds of the mob was coming closer, and the harsh breathing of the girl next to him was not helping him concentrate at all.

"Focus, Judai!"

Judai was really trying! But he couldn't feel anything different at all!

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, revealing yellow orbs instead of the usual brown. The girl gasped next to him, "Supreme King Haou-sama!"

The mob bursted into the clearing. The eyes of the Supreme King stared at them, stopping all of them in their tracks. A smirk graced that angelic face, before he disappeared.

_Does that answer your questions, Reader? No? But this makes perfect sense to me! Who's the girl you ask? Well, it could be anyone! Maybe it's you, Reader-chan? Or it could be your sister, Reader-kun? Or maybe it's even me, the Narrator? Or it could be the Author? What? You still don't understand how Judai ended up being chased in that forest? Come now! Think about it! It really is not hard at all. No, you still don't understand, you say? Oh, fine! I'll spoil you with the details then._

Judai landed hard on his feet, the wind knocked out of him.

"Oomf! That was definitely not a fun way to travel; that place was way too dark." Judai plopped on the ground, before taking in his surroundings. He was in an abandoned warehouse, and a group of men with the looks of Yakuza was near to where he was lying.

"Judai, you might want to take a look at this…" Yubel's voice sounded grave in his mind.

The Yakuza-looking guys looked to be in a stupor, but the leader with the red necktie recovered fast enough.

"What are you doing here, boy! Didn't your mother never tell you not to interrupt in other's affairs?"

He was speaking Japanese, thankfully, Judai thought. That means he was in Japan; at least the Space Distortion Traveling thing worked out.

"Hey, I'm talking to you boy!" The man shouted angrily at him as his thugs moved restlessly around.

"Hehe," Judai scratched the back of his head, "I am sorry, I just sort of …fell here, I guess?"

Then he heard an unmistakable plea for help from the midst of the Yakuza group.

"_Please, please help me!_"

It was the voice of a girl, a cry for help at Judai, who, like usual, happened to land at the right place at just the right time.

"Shut up, you ****!" The man turned back to yell at the frightened girl.

"That's not a nice way to treat a lady, sir." Judai said as he stood up; his hand reaching instinctively for his deck.

"What do you know about treating a lady, boy," the man sneered, "I bet you've never had a girlfriend in your life." The Yakuza guffawed at Judai.

"I think we'll leave my love life out of this," Judai said dismissively. He discreetly signaled to Yubel in his mind, telling her to leave his soul and free the girl. Yubel gave a mental nod as she flew from Judai's body, not materializing but able to be seen by a select few. The trapped girl, luckily, was one of them.

As Judai confronted the Yakuza, Yubel flew to the girl, whispering in her ear, "When my master gives the signal, run for it!"

The girl looked afraid, so Yubel reassured her, "It's alright; my master will free you, and won't let anything happen to you. That's why he sent me to protect you."

"NOW, Yubel!"

Yubel materialized within the midst of the Yakuza. Most of the men started screaming and running around. Within the chaos, no one noticed the girl sprinting away and disappearing behind the doorway.

"Now, let get out of here, Yubel!"

Once again, Yubel dematerialized, and flew next to Judai as he made a dash for the opposite door that the girl had ran out of.

"What are you all doing, you wimps! Chase after him! That was a hologram, you dolts!"

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Author's Note: Hmmm, don't kill me please? This is an experiment in a new style of writing. And new genres, too. Usually, I can't write Humor at all. Now that I think about it, maybe this is only funny to me….? As for adventure, I am actually pretty bad at writing it. I tend to read angst more, and also want to write angst more. But this will be an interesting experiment nonetheless. Actually, this whole plot was cooked up from doing too much physics, organic chemistry (you see the influences by these?) and Japanese, not to mention history, and influenced at the most subatomic level by my Short Fiction English class. This will be used to occupy my time during finals week. And yes, this is a result of procrastination. But heck, 6 finals and a paper all in final's week can do that to you. If you like, please review. No like? Tell me WHY! No flames please. All flamers will be thrust onto the altar to appease the gods of exams and used to secure myself all A's. Thank you~

Tune in next time for:

_Chapter Two: Traveling Through the Wrinkle of Time_

_And I have two quotes for you that may or may not appear in the next chapter._

_Quote: "Oh man, we sure aren't in Kansas anymore, Yubel."_

_Quote 2: "Ohhh, won't it be cool to meet our future selves, Yubel?" _

"_If you did, you would create a worse paradox than Paradox ever could."_

Disclaimers:

1. The name "Herald of Gentle Darkness" is not mine! I came across it first in the fic _"So Far, So Good"_ by _Heleentje_-sama. I do not know if this name is canon or not, as I have tried looking it up. I also do not know who first came up with this first, as after I came across it once, I seem to see it more and more often now. Maybe when people English-subbed that episode, this was the name given? I wouldn't really know, since I watch all of my Yu-Gi-Oh anime with Chinese subs….Anyway, I just really like this name, and I will use it, so there!

2. The Traveling through Darkness thingy, or Space Distortion Traveling, is also not thought up by me. I have come across references to that multiple times in the Yu-Gi-Oh/Yu-Gi-Oh GX fandom. First time I saw it was probably with _History of Magic _in the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom. Or maybe it was with the author esama? Anyway, I also came across this idea in _"So Far, So Good"_ as well, so in case people start accusing me of stealing ideas, I am just putting it out there NOW that yes, I have read these people's works. But just as with the idea of Time Traveling, surely this does not count as…anything, right? Never mind, I think I'm rambling.

3. Finally, the Most Important Disclaimer of All: I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH GX or YU-GI-OH 5DS or YU-GI-OH ANYTHING! I am just a poor, poor, poor college kid who is at her wits' end because of the crushing pressure of STUPID FINALS!

Ja ne!


	2. Traveling Through the Wrinkle of Time

Title: If One Steps into the Gentle Darkness

Genre: Adventure/Humor

Summary: Being the Herald of Gentle Darkness sure was hard work, even without a new power manifesting on a daily basis. And just where did Judai land himself this time? _"Aww, Yubel! Don't be so harsh!" Judai clutched at his "wounded" heart, "Have some faith in me, please."_

Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue...Seriously...

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**Chapter Two: Traveling Through the Wrinkle of Time **

"I thought coming to Japan was going to get everything solved?" Judai was bored. He had being sitting in the same position for the past 2 hours. Sure, the mob of Yakuza was gone, but you could never be too careful these days.

"Stop whining, Judai." Yubel was getting a headache, too, "Do you even know where in Japan we are?"

"Umm, no?"

"Then go find out!"

"But you told me not to move from this place!"

"That was 2 hours ago! The Yakuza's gone, and Hane Kuriboh can look out for you. It has been at least 5 hours since we saw that girl on that island, and she did say that if we made it to Japan within 12 hours, 'all shall be revealed'. Now that you think about it, she was awfully vague about where in Japan we were supposed to be heading."

"Wherever the wind takes us, I'd say," Judai stretched leisurely, "or in this case, wherever the Gentle Darkness decides to take us."

"That's assuming you didn't mess up the Traveling," Yubel muttered, "because in this case, it was not the Gentle Darkness guiding us, it's you, or more precisely, the Supreme King in you who was guiding the Traveling. You could have made a mistake and dumped us out somewhere totally irrelevant to where we are supposed to be heading."

"Aww, Yubel! Don't be so harsh!" Judai clutched at his "wounded" heart, "Have some faith in me, please."

Yubel's gaze softened, "It's not I don't trust you, Judai, but that was your first time Traveling consciously, and anyone could have made mistakes."

Judai smiled back at Yubel, and the moment passed in understanding, "You know what, I'll snoop around a bit and find out where we are."

Judai stood up but a momentary spell of vertigo almost made him fall.

"Judai!" Yubel caught him around the shoulders, "On a second thought, why don't you rest while I go snooping around? You are bound to be really tired after Traveling and running all the time."

"Thanks, Yubel." Judai's eyelids were already drooping as his duel spirit laid him down on the forest floor, "I'll see you in the morning…"

Yubel smiled, "Sweet dreams, my Judai."

She summoned Hane Kuriboh before she left, just in case something happened. The furry monster was more than happy to snuggle up against the worn-out duelist, keeping him warm in the process.

Yubel flew out of the forest, looking around at the darkened streets of a typical Japanese city.

"None of these buildings look really familiar at all," Yubel thought to herself as she looked left and right. She flapped her wings to hover in the sky, her dual-colored eyes scanning the horizon for a sign of familiarity.

"Is that…" she breathed, for in the distance, with the proud KC sitting at the top, was the Kaiba Corp Tower that Domino City was so well known for.

"At least we are in a familiar city," Yubel thought as she started to head back to where Judai was staying low for the night, "even if Domino wasn't the final destination, Judai will be glad to be back here after so long."

The night air caressed Yubel's sleek wings and worn-out body as she flew silently through the pre-dawn sky of Domino City. In the distance, a streak of sunlight showed itself on the horizon, and as if in answering, another light, dimmer and swirling almost with darkness, shone from the forest that Judai was staying in. Yubel felt an indescribable sensation travel from her heart to her whole body.

"Judai?" she whispered, before putting on an extra burst of speed, hearing Hane Kuriboh's agitated chirping through her mind. She flew as fast as she could, but her body was somehow slowing down! In confusion, Yubel watched as her body seemed to start to disappear, sucked into a gentle darkness.

"JUDAI!"

_As you, dear Reader, reaches this part of the story, you start to scoff. This is so predictable, you scream at the computer or perhaps at your mobile as you stand on a crowded bus, so cliché that you just want to stop reading this right now! Surely the Author should know that this is how Every Author introduces a turning point in their story. I, as the Narrator, cannot fathom what goes on in the head of the Author, but I have to agree with you. But, as the Narrator, I implore you to go on. Perhaps you'll be pleasantly surprised? You, the Reader, seems to doubt it, but continues, even though the fun has already been spoiled by such a formula move on the part of the Author._

"Ohooo! Fudo Yusei has managed to pull off another miracle!" The MC shouted into his microphone as the world around him was falling into pieces, "He has managed to win against astounding odds, and now we have the champion of the first WRGP. Please give a huge round of cheers for.….TEAM 5DS!"

Yusei skidded to a halt on his D-Wheel with Jack and Crow right behind him, making way for Aporia as he rushed past, as he has lost all control over his D-Wheel, heading for certain death within the deep sea. That is, if androids could die.

"We did it." Crow breathed, looking gobsmacked, "we really did manage to defeat the Machine Emperors!"

"We did it…" Yusei, too, looked a bit shocked, but this is Yusei we are talking about, Yusei who rarely puts his emotions on his face.

"Humph," Jack crossed his arms, "I never doubted that Yusei could do it. With my Soul out on the field, how could he lose?"

The three friends looked at each other, before bursting into relieved laughter.

"Ouch!"

Crow clutched his arm as the three Dragon marks started to burn with an intense red. Yusei and Jack both grunted in pain as the light intensified.

"What's going on?" Jack grimaced, clutching at his burning arm.

"I have no…"

"Look!" Crow shouted, "What is that?"

The sky was changing colors. The murky blue that was present since the beginning of the duel with the 3 Machine Emperors was slowly darkening into a swirling mass of dimmed light. The mass contracted before lighting up and exploding with a tremendous boom that shook Neo Domino City. From the explosion, the 3 Signers could faintly see _something_ being ejected.

"Is that…?"

"I think that's a person," Jack said matter-of-factly.

"Oh my God!" Crow yelled, as the three of them raced towards the place of impact on their D-Wheels.

"And he's heading for a crash with the Machine Emperors' D-Wheel!" Yusei yelled.

_And he certainly was, for the shooting person, if we could call him that, was falling straight towards the place the Machine Emperors' D-Wheel was heading. Talk about picking a better place to land next time, Judai-kun!_

_Ehh, who are you?_

_Why I am the Narrator of this story, silly!_

_What, I am the Narrator! I have been Narrating this story since the beginning! Get out of here, IMPOSTER!_

_Poosh, your Narrating skills are, frankly, terrible. You have been interrupting the flow of the story instead of making intelligent commentaries, as a good Narrator should. Now, the Author has decided to make me the official Narrator, and you have been fired! Author-sama, throw him out please!_

_Now, where was I? Ah, yes, I remember. Dear Readers, you must be waiting to see what will happen to poor Judai-kun. Now, please don't grumble about this interruption! It was necessary for throwing out the Other Narrator! No? You disagree? But… _

_By this time, you, the Reader, have already lost patience with the pathetic and totally irrelevant Narrating. You start to fume at the computer screen, opening your mouth to yell at the Narrator, before realizing that perhaps it's more prudent to see what will happen next._

"Judai! Wake up, wake up or else we are going to crash!"

Judai heard the plea somewhere in his sleepy mind, but couldn't really bring himself to do anything about it.

"So tired…"

"Wake up and sleep later! I can't materialize for some reason! Give me some of your power or else you won't just be tired; you'll be DEAD!"

That was enough to wake up Judai. Brown eyes snapping open, he surveyed the situation. Seems like he was falling from the sky towards the sea and about to crash into a motorcycle with a weird looking dude on it.

Wait, what?

"AHHHH, what's going on! I remember falling asleep in a FOREST, not on a cloud! If this is some kind of new power of Traveling, I swear I am never going to sleep again!"

"Hurry up and give me some help, Judai!"

"Oh, right!" Judai's eyes glowed golden for a brief second as his body emitted a dark purple mist.

"What's going on?" That panicked voice of Yubel once again shouted through his mind, "I can't materialize at all!"

"What? How about this, Neos o shoukan!"

Nothing happened.

"Oh no," Judai breathed.

"Gentle Darkness, Judai! Call on the Gentle Darkness!"

"I am trying! But something is blocking me!"

They were nearing the sea now, just as the D-Wheel was nearing the sea as well. The crash that was to come seemed inevitable.

"GO, Crimson Dragon!"

A huge red Serpent suddenly blocked their field of vision. For a second, all that Judai could see was a sea of red flames. Then suddenly, he was coiled in the embrace of a dragon of crimson, floating in the space between heaven and earth.

"Woo, you look familiar, Dragon-san. I swear I have seen you before."

The Crimson Dragon grinned, a very vicious grin for someone who is an ally, Judai thought.

"Well, I am surprised you have forgotten me, Herald of Gentle Darkness, Yuki Haou Judai. Do you remember who saved you from Paradox in Venice?"

"Ohh, hehe," Judai laughed, embarrassed, "I remember now. You are the Akaki Ryuu, Protector of the 5 Signers, right?"

"Well, I am glad the Herald still remembers some of his history lessons," the Dragon crinkled his eyes in a sign of laughter, "but I have to say that I am very glad you came, Herald. It seems that even though the Duel has been won, the Danger has not yet passed."

"No, it has not." Judai replied gravely.

"So, you are the Herald of Gentle Darkness?"

A new voice entered the conversion, not a very welcomed voice in the least. Judai and the Crimson Dragon both looked down at Aporia, who was holding on to the dock with his last remaining strength while his D-Wheel did a nose-dive into a watery grave.

"What's this Herald business all about?"

Yusei, Jack and Crow had also arrived at the scene. Yusei stared at the person within the embrace of the Dragon.

"Yuki Judai? Are you Judai-san?"

Judai's eyes lit up, "Yusei! Long time no see!"

"You know this kid, Yusei?" Jack glared at Judai, he didn't like the looks of someone who can just fall from the sky.

"Well…"

"I hate to break up this touching reunion," Aporia's voice cut in, "but the Herald must not be allowed to establish his control over this Timeline! We worked so hard in changing his Timeline and trying to get rid of him, but it seems like we failed. No matter, I shall finish what was started!"

"What?" Judai yelled, "So you were the one trying to get rid of me! I'll have you know that I don't appreciate being chased in every place I go to. It was a mad amount of running! And those guys with guns were no joke."

Aporia grinned manically, "But you survived, for some unexplained reason. You won't escape this time, though. First, to get rid of that pesky dragon."

Aporia's body started glowing golden, and the Crimson Dragon roared in pain. Yusei, Jack and Crow were also bent over from the overwhelming burning sensation in their arms.

"Herald…! I can't stay much longer; he is sucking away my energy to remain in this world!"

"Akaki Ryuu, hold on!"

"I am sorry, Herald…" The Crimson Dragon disappeared in a showering display of red stars.

"Not again!" Judai groaned, as he felt gravity take effect.

"Don't think this is the end, Herald of Gentle Darkness!" Aporia yelled up at the falling Judai, "I will make sure you are truly dead this time. And since I am going to die, I'll take you with me!"

With a boom, Aporia self-destructed, debris flying every which way, "Why does everyone want to kill me?" Judai groaned.

"Judai, try to use one of those metal pieces to slow our descent!"

"How? They are nothing like parachutes! And I can barely see anything in this smoke."

As if on cue, a big stray piece of metal that looked like it was originally from the hand of Aporia came rushing out of the smoke at Judai, delivering a straight hit to his head. As Judai lost consciousness, he heard Yubel yelling inside his mind, something about his hard head and how he can't just die here. A smile crossed his face as he fell into the watery depth of Neo Domino Sea.

_You stretched as you pushed back the chair. It's getting late, and you have school tomorrow. But for some reason, you can't get the image of Judai falling with a smile on his face out of your mind. You curse the Author as you head to the kitchen to fix yourself a midnight snack. You open the fridge and grimace as you realize that you have nothing left except a shriveled apple you remember stealing from the dining hall a week ago. Looking through the cupboards, you come up with some Shin Ramen. Deciding that this was enough for a snack, you start heating the water. Soon the smell of ramen was wafting throughout the apartment. You chuckle as the image of Yusei and Crow sharing a cup of ramen flicker through your head, and you laugh out loud as you remember the obsession Jack and Yeager had for the salty goodness. Feeling slightly more cheerful, you head back to the computer, eager to see what happens next. As long as the Author didn't kill off Judai…_

"This guy must have really bad luck if a flying piece of debris just happened to hit him on the head while he was under the protection of the Akaki Ryuu." Rua mused as the gang waited in the garage of Yusei, Crow and Jack's apartment for the mysterious person who fell from the sky to wake up.

"It's actually a bit more complicated than that." Yusei said as he worked on his D-Wheel aimlessly. The scrapes and cracks that were present on it had long since been taken care of, as well as the ones on Crow and Jack's D-Wheels, but Yusei still fiddled with his D-Wheel. His hands felt as if they needed something to do, and his mind probably felt he needed to have something else to do as well. Judai had been so pale when Yusei had managed to get him out of the water, and he had a long gash on his forehead that was bleeding profusely. They had rushed him back to the apartment then, picking up the twins, Aki and Bruno from the stadium along the way. It was there they met up with Team Ragnarok. Harald took one look at Judai with his Rune Eye before proclaiming that Team 5Ds needed to protect him at all costs. Jack, who was thoroughly annoyed at being kept in the dark by that time, started to snapped, before Yusei reminded them all that Judai needed treatment and he needed it now. Team Ragnarok left, but not before promising to stop by later to talk to Judai.

"Just what is so special about this kid anyway?" Jack was still annoyed at not knowing what was going on, and maybe just a little jealous that a random kid who fell from the sky was getting so much attention when he didn't even do anything.

"I'd like to know that, too," Crow said, as he lounged on a chair, "You said you knew the kid from before, Yusei?"

"Hn, I do know Judai. But it's a rather long story."

"I love stories, Yusei! Tell us, tell us!" Rua clambered next to Yusei, looking excited.

"It's not like we have anything else to do anyway," Aki said, settling down on the sofa.

Yusei sighed, "Jack, Crow, do you two remember the Paradox Incident?"

"Yea, you mean that guy who took Stardust Dragon about a year ago?"

"Yes, that incident. Remember how the Crimson Dragon took me along to chase after him? Well, I met Judai-san, and Yugi-san at that time."

"Muto Yugi? The original King of Games?" Jack yelled, "You met him and you never bothered telling us?"

"Well, it sort of slipped my mind." Yusei said, "Anyway, the three of us dueled against Paradox and defeated him, and then we all went back to our respective timelines, I suppose."

"Wait," Crow said, "You traveled back in time to get Stardust back? How come you never told us about any of it? We thought you just went with the Crimson Dragon, defeated that guy, and took back your Stardust!"

"That incident was right before Ghost, and we all sort of became preoccupied after that." Yusei said.

"But still…"

"Wait," Rua said slowly, as he chewed on his lip, "So this Judai guy is from the past? From Muto Yugi's time?"

"Judai-san is most definitely from the past, but I think there is several years' difference between their time periods. Judai-san is probably younger than Yugi-san by at least 5 years, I'd say. But they seem to know each other, or at least Judai-san seemed to actually know Yugi-san"

"But everyone knows the original King of Games!"

"No, I mean really know, not just the 'I know you because you are my idol' know."

"So Judai must be a really good duelist, right?" Rua's eyes were shining in excitement at the prospect of finding someone this powerful to duel.

"Ah," Yusei smiled at Rua, "He is a very strong duelist. Possibly on the level of Yugi-san."

"If that's true, then how come we have never heard about him at all? He doesn't seem to have ever made a name for himself." Bruno asked curiously.

"I don't know," Yusei said, "but there must be a reason Paradox went after him as well after he got Stardust from me. Judai-san seems to have a strong connection with Duel Monsters spirits, and if that title of Herald was any indication, he must be someone pretty important in the history of Duel Monsters."

"Now that you've mentioned it," Aki said with a thoughtful expression on her face, "I think I might have heard about this Judai from somewhere. Is his full name Yuki Judai?"

"Umm, yes, it is."

"Then I believe he was originally a student of the first Duel Academia. We learnt about him in our history of Duel Academia lessons."

"Really, Aki-nee-chan? I don't remember ever hearing about this person." Rua said.

"Maybe you'd remember if you actually pay attention, Rua," Ruka said exasperatedly, "Aki-nee-chan, I remember learning about Yuki Judai as well. If I remember correctly, he was ranked the best out of all the students who graduated that same year, beating some pretty well known names like the Marufuji brothers, and Edo Phoenix."

"Yes, Yuki Judai was the best in his class in dueling at least. But I heard he disappeared after he graduated from the Academia, and was rarely heard from again. He never went pro, and there were no records showing he actually dueled for any large audiences."

"That's probably because I never did, or maybe it's I never will?"

The whole group turned their heads around so fast, most of them probably got whip-lashed. Judai stood in the doorway, looking as pale as a ghost and probably just as bedraggled.

"I'd introduce myself, but I think you all know who I am, right?" Judai smiled weakly.

"Judai-san, what are you doing up?"

"It's nice to see you again, too, Yusei."

"Yusei's right, boy," Jack said haughtily, "You should have stayed in bed. That face looks like death just warmed over."

"Thanks, umm, what's your name again?"

"Jack Atlas, the one and only king! Remember that, boy!"

"Umm, sure, if you say so."

Yusei walked over to the shorter man, "You should have stayed in bed."

Judai smiled at Yusei, "I hardly think I Time Traveled just so that I could stay in bed. There must be something going on in this time period that needed fixing."

"Fixing?" Crow asked, "We've got everything under control! We defeated those Machine Emperors. What else could be wrong?"

"I don't know," Judai shook his head, "but since I am in this period, there must be something going on that's not normal."

"Normal," Jack scoffed, "things haven't been normal since we got the Marks of the Crimson Dragon. Don't lecture us on _normal_."

Judai blinked owlishly at them, "Wait, you guys are the 5 Signers of the Akaki Ryuu?"

Yusei sighed, "Why don't you sit down and we'll explain everything and then you can tell us your story?"

* * *

Author's Note: No, this will not have a shipping at all. This will not be Yubel/Judai or Johan/Judai or anything like that! I epically FAIL at writing romance, so don't expect romance to be part of this at all. Actually, I don't even think Johan is going to be in this one anyway. I love Johan and all, but, he does not fit in this story. As of this chapter, this will be an official crossover between GX and 5Ds. AU for the latest episodes of 5Ds of course. As I have not seen the 10th Anniversary Movie, I have no idea how Yusei refers to Judai, so I just made him be polite and call Judai with the san suffix. I mean, after all, Judai calls Yugi with the san suffix, and he hardly does that for anyone…And I have no idea if Yusei even knows about Judai been the Herald and Supreme King. I suppose they probably didn't mention that in the Movie, so I just made Yusei aware that Judai was "special", but not the details. And I somehow fell back to my old way of writing…Did not mean for that to happen, but passing up an opportunity to injure Judai was just impossible! Judai is adorable when he is sick~~~ Anyway, hope you enjoyed the update, and please, please, please review! Thank you~

Once again, tune in next time for:

_Chapter Three: Flying with the Dragons of Five_

_And here is another quote that may or may not appear in the next chapter. If all depends on how the chapter writes itself. _

_Quote: "Wow, Judai! You can fly!" _

"_Well, I've been wondering when this was going to pop up; would have been helpful if I could fly when I first came here, so I didn't crash right into that duel with Aporia. You'd think Flying would be the first in Traveling, but noooo, Traveling through Space and Time was apparently more normal than Flying. Go figure." _


	3. Flying with the Dragons of Five

Title: If One Steps into the Gentle Darkness

Genre: Adventure/Humor

Summary: Being the Herald of Gentle Darkness sure was hard work, even without a new power manifesting on a daily basis. And just where did Judai land himself this time? "_You'd think Flying would be the first in Traveling, right?"_

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or 5Ds or anything. Anything you recognize is not my property. I am just a poor college student who barely get by anyway, so please don't sue! Thank you!

Chapter Three: Flying with the Dragons of Five

It took the better part of the rest of the day to sort everything out, and by the time they finished, night had fallen and Judai was asleep on the sofa, from where he was promptly moved to Yusei's bed. Aki and the twins had left a while ago, and Team Ragnarok did drop by after that and the meeting between Judai and the Team was hilarious, to say the least. Especially when Yubel got involved.

"Who'd have thought that Team Ragnarok would bow down to anyone, much less a kid that fell from the sky." Jack was getting the most kick out of this, it seemed.

"I'll have you know, Jack Atlas, that Yuki Judai will be the key to saving the world!"

"I thought you guys believed we were going to be the ones saving the world?" Crow said good-naturedly.

"Actually," Jack snickered, "They thought they were going to save the world until we beat them in the WRGP."

A tick began to grow on Dragan's forehead.

"Jack…," Yusei sighed.

"It does not matter, Fudo Yusei," Harald said dismissively, "But after hearing the Herald's story, it seems like the matter is much graver than we originally thought."

"Aa," Yusei nodded, "I can't say that I understand the part about the Nothingness, but stopping Synchro Monsters from ever existing, that does sound like something Yliaster would do."

"But what I still don't understand is why Judai-san came to this time period," Bruno said, "Shouldn't he have traveled back in time to stop the agents of Yliaster when they were meddling with the creation of Synchro Monsters? That would have made more sense."

"And this whole time-traveling business is too complicated!" Crow groaned, "I mean, if Synchro Monsters never existed in Judai's timeline, then why do we still have Synchro Monsters here in our timeline? Shouldn't the effects have reached this period by now?"

"I think I can explain that," Bruno said, "It has to be Judai-san's presence that's causing the shift. Judai-san is the Herald, someone who helps others right? Keep the balance of the world in check and all. Well, the balance has been tipped, and the Nothingness, which I actually interpret as entropy, is increasing at an abnormal rate. Entropy increase and the end of the universe has always been linked together, and if the entropy was increasing that fast, maybe Judai-san's timeline never actually reached ours, but since the Herald is here, and we are all here, something must have happened to disconnect our two timelines, so that until everything is fixed, we are actually not in the same dimensional zone as the timeline that Judai-san came from; we have been, ahh, removed, I suppose, from the old dimensional zone."

Harald nodded slowly, "That does make a lot of sense. But it still does not change the fact that we have to somehow change the past as well as save the future from this time period."

"No, it doesn't. And frankly, I would say that I am glad we have someone here who knows what's going on." Dragan agreed.

"But that someone is a kid!" Jack hissed, "A kid that just fell from the sky! How can you all just trust him like that?"

"I understand where you are going at, Jack," Crow said as he moved to fix everyone a cup of coffee, "But you saw how the Crimson Dragon stepped in to save the kid, and he isn't even related to us in the slightest. And remember how chummy the Dragon was with Judai. I'd say we trust him, since the Dragon obviously does."

"And anyone who could speak to a God-like deity with such familiarity is bound to be powerful in his own right," Brave added, "so I really don't see the problem of going with this kid and seeing what happens."

Jack knew when he was outnumbered, "Fine, do whatever you want, but until the kid proves himself, I will reserve my right to not trust him."

_It's the week of the New Year! No school and good food for at least a week is on your list of things to do. But, first things first, you open the computer to check your email account. You are intrigued to see that there is a new update for If One Steps into the Gentle Darkness. This Author has disappeared off your radar for at least 2 weeks now. Good to know she is still alive. You glance at the living room, filled with holiday cheer and tasty treats and family members waiting to hear about your year… Ahh, all that can wait for a while, right? You click on the link and begin reading the new chapter._

Judai slowly opened his eyes; he still felt tired and half-dead, but it was bearable, at least.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Judai."

"Yubel! Are you okay? Are you hurt? What's going on?"

"Calm down, Judai! Everything is fine, for now, at least."

Judai breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good to hear."

Then he scrunched his eyebrow together, before a look of dawning horror appeared on his face, "Oh no."

"What? What's wrong, Judai?"

"I thought something was missing! We've lost Pharaoh and Daitokuji-sensei somewhere in the Traveling! I don't even know if cats can survive in the Darkness for any long period of time! What if they die? What if that Yliaster captures them? Daitokuji-sensei has too much useful information, and they are going to torture it out of him! Oh, no! I should have kept a better eye on them…!"

"Judai, stop hyperventilating!"

"What's going on?" By now, the gang had heard Judai, and they crowded into his room.

Judai turned panicked eyes to them and almost wailed, "I've lost my cat!"

Everyone just blinked at him.

"Your cat…?" Brave muttered with the strangest expression on his face, "The world is collapsing and you are worried about your cat…?"

"You don't understand!" Judai cried, "That cat has my sensei's soul in it! And sensei is very knowledgeable on many things, and I have to find him! What if the enemy get their hands on Pharaoh? This is really bad!"

"Pharaoh?"

"Your sensei's soul is in a cat?"

"You are still in school?"

"Why would Yliaster want a cat of all things?"

"You don't understand!" Judai repeated impatiently, "This is Pharaoh and Daitokuji-sensei we are talking about!"

"Calm down, Judai!" Yubel's voice shouted over all the din. Yubel materialized, scaring half the room.

"You are always with him?" Crow yelped.

"Of course, Crow," Yubel said impatiently, "I am part of his soul, of course I am always by his side."

"Talk about no privacy."

Yubel glared. Crow wisely shut his mouth.

"Judai," Yubel turned to the distraught young man, "Pharaoh will be fine! We can go look for him when you are better. If you don't stop to recover, you are not going to help anyone, least of all Pharaoh and Daitokuji-sensei. And what about Yusei and everyone else? There is trouble in this Time and if you are at anything less than your best, who's to say that you won't be knocked out of the game before you are even in it?"

Judai sighed, lowering his eyes, "I suppose you are right, Yubel, but I have made so many mistakes in the past, and I don't want to lose anyone again, not Pharaoh, not Daitokuji-sensei."

Yubel smiled gently at him, "I understand, Judai, but you have to think rationally."

"Besides, Judai-san, we'll help you find this wayward cat of yours," Yusei smiled at the other duelist, "maybe he also came to this time and is just lost."

Judai smiled brilliantly, "Thanks, Yusei. I really appreciate that."

_You, the Reader, nods in approval. So the Author didn't just forget about Pharaoh and leave him in the darkness of a plot hole. For some time now, you have been afraid that's exactly what happened. At least the Author did something right. _

The next morning dawned bright and early. Yusei woke from the makeshift bed on the couch and stretched. It felt good to finally be released from the pressure of the Machine Emperors. Life was finally back to normal. Or as normal as it was ever going to get with a Time Traveler around. Talking about Time Travelers…

Yusei gently creaked open the door to his bedroom, expecting to see the brunette sleeping peacefully, but an empty room greeted him, instead. Yusei groaned, talk about baby-sitting a Time Traveler! A note floated down in front of him, written in a messy scribble. Yusei grabbed it, and read:

_Hey Yusei, or whoever finds this first, I suppose:_

_I'll be back soon, but I just had this really weird feeling coming from across the water, and I thought I'd check it out. Don't worry about me! I'll be back when I'm done snooping around. I'll look for Pharaoh along the way, but I'd appreciated it if you guys can keep an eye out, too. I drew a picture of what he looks like on the back. _

_Anyway, see you guys later!_

_Judai_

Yusei flipped the paper over; an equally messily scribbled picture of a fat tabby cat was on the back. Yusei groaned again. Why couldn't Judai just stayed still until everyone woke up? But, Yusei supposed that he couldn't really blame him for acting alone; hasn't he been acting alone for a long time now? And wasn't Yubel with him, too? So Judai's not totally alone.

Well, Judai's definitely in Satellite, if that "across the water" reference was anything to go by, and Satellite was the place Yusei was most familiar with. He'll just have to track him down there.

"Good morning, Yusei, Jack, Crow!"

The voices of Rua, Ruka and Aki floated from the entrance. He'll have help, too, it seems.

**

* * *

**

"Remind me again why we are going after the kid?" Jack's voice came over the intercom, annoyed.

"Well, technically, he _is _our guest."

"You mean he's a freeloader!"

"Oh, and like you aren't Jack?" Crow said tauntingly.

"YOU…!"

"Stop it, you two." Harald's voice joined in the conversation.

"And remind me why _they _are tagging along, too?"

"Because we can't just leave the Herald in only your care; the fate of the world depends on this guy!" Brave said good-naturedly.

"You think we can't protect him!"

"Nooo, it's not that we think so; we _know_ so!" Brave laughed over the com system.

Jack growled and glared at Brave's face on his screen.

"You know," Bruno said, trying to change the subject before a war broke out, "for some reason, I don't think Judai-san is going to be pleased to know that we are protecting him."

"I agree," Aki voiced her own thoughts, "Judai-san must be very used to doing things by himself. He may not appreciate the fact that we are going after him."

"Just say we thought we had a lead that his cat was here or something." Crow provided.

"How about trying to find him first? Satellite is a big place, and I don't think Team Ragnarok is familiar with it?"

"No," Dragan replied, "We knew about Satellite, but we have never been there before."

"How about we split up into groups when we reach Satellite?"

"That's a good idea."

"Alright, we are taking the next exit off the bridge. Crow, you go with Brave; Jack, take Dragan along; Aki, go with Bruno and take Ruka with you; Harald, you are coming with me and Rua. Meet back at Martha's by sundown if we have no luck."

"Got it!"

"Alright! Let's rev it up!"

_Wait, what? Isn't that Yusei's catchphrase in the dub? O..kay? You thought this was based on the subbed version? What is the Author thinking anyway, mixing dubbed and subbed? Oh, well, you suppose you could overlook one mistake, right? Or maybe two…or three…_

"I think we are lost." Judai said, standing in a huge crater in the ground, looked around the desolated landscape.

"That's the understatement of the century." Oh, Yubel was annoyed, alright, "Didn't I tell you to wait until Yusei and the rest woke up so you guys can go together? No, you just had to act by yourself."

Judai ignored her, "Wait! I think I see the water! And isn't that Neo Domino City right across?"

"At least you are in the right place. You might be getting the hang of this Traveling business after all. Didn't you say you felt something coming from across the water?"

"Yea," Judai muttered, looking at his surroundings again, before staring down at the ground with a pensive look, "you know, Yubel, I think we are standing right on top of it."

Yubel looked down as well, "What, exactly, are we looking for again?"

"I don't know," Judai said, as he started digging around, "I just have a really bad feeling, that's all."

"Are you sure it isn't because you are tired?"

"No, seriously, Yubel. I woke up because of this. There is definitely something weird going on here."

"What could be weird about a dirt crater? There is nothing around here for miles!"

"No, really…" Judai stopped abruptly, and his eyes turned golden, the color of the Supreme King.

"Judai! What's wrong?"

"There is nothing wrong with him, Guardian." A woman's voice came from behind Yubel, startling her, "He is just reacting to the power of the Old Momentum; after all, you don't see that kind of energy lying around in a dirt crater every day."

Yubel whirled around, ready to attack, "Who are you?"

The woman with long golden tresses smiled, "My name is Sherry LeBlanc, and it's nice to meet you too, Herald and his Guardian."

Behind them, Judai fell onto his knees, "This kind of power…"

Yubel was torn: on the one hand, she was worried about Judai and wanted to attend to him; on the other hand, she didn't want to turn her back to this Sherry LeBlanc, there was something definitely off about this whole situation.

"Looks like the Herald's power is reacting quite violently with Momentum's power; they are the same brand of power after all. Momentum seems to sense the amount of Duel Energy coming from the Herald and is trying to pull it out." Sherry smirked at her own words, "This is not a safe place for the Herald, Guardian, especially with his powers not recuperated nor controlled; I am truly surprised that he is even here."

"Why we are here is none of your business, woman!" Yubel spat at her.

"Oh, but that's where you are mistaken," Sherry said with a smile, "You see, it was Zone-sama and I who guided the Herald here. We wished to speak with him."

"You…!" Yubel was livid with rage, "What do you want with Judai? Why did you make him come to this place?"

Sherry turned her back to the Duel Monster spirit, "We wanted to make a trade: we have something of the Herald's and we want something from the Herald in return. Why we chose this particular place, well I am sure you can see why, Guardian: it's much easier to deal with one than to deal with two at the same time."

"You knew Judai was going to be overwhelmed," Yubel hissed as she pulled the unresponsive Judai into her arms, "Well, I can tell you right now, mortal, that anything you want from Judai, I will not allow him to give to you!"

"Even if I have his precious sensei and the fur ball?" Almost out of thin air, Sherry pulled a struggling, clawing, and yowling Pharaoh into view, "From what I understand, this fur ball is the Herald's companion; surely he would be upset if anything were to happen to this cat, right?"

"Ma…make it s..stop," Judai groaned as he slowly adjusted to the draining of his already depleted energy supplies, "please…Don't…hurt Pharaoh…or Daitokuji-sensei."

Judai opened his eyes, which had faded into brown, "What…do you want? Give Pharaoh…and sensei back to …me!"

Sherry smirked, "I knew you would see it my way. Let's go somewhere else to settle this, shall we?"

* * *

"Has anyone found anything yet?" Yusei's voice came over the com system.

"No," Crow replied, "we've hit nothing, and we've asked around, and no one's seen anyone like the kid."

"We have nothing either," Jack growled over the intercom, "the kid probably never came to this part of Satellite."

"Judai-san is not in our area either," Aki's voice joined the others, "no one has seen anyone like him at all here."

"We've got nothing either," Yusei sighed over the com system, "Let's keep looking."

"Roger that!" Crow said cheerily.

"I expect payment for babysitting the kid!" Jack muttered.

"We'll contact you if we see anything, Yusei."

"Thanks, minna."

Yusei closed the com system in his D-Wheel.

"Where do you think he would be, Yusei?"

"I have no idea. As far as I know, Judai-san doesn't know Satellite at all, and I don't know why he would even come here in the first place."

"He left you a note, didn't he?"

"Yea, but all he said was that he got a bad feeling from across the water and that he was going to investigate. Not much to go by if we want to find him in Satellite."

"Bad feeling…?"

"Bad feeling…Wait, could he have meant the Old Momentum site?"

Yusei veered suddenly, "I think I might know where he went!"

Suddenly, the com system screen flared to life, "Yusei," Crow's panicked voice sounded over the system, "I think there's something going on at the Bridge! Me and Brave, we are heading over there right now, but I think you might wanna see this, too."

"The Bridge? What's going on there?"

"I don't know, but I heard some people say they saw a woman and a guy up there and something about a cat?"

"I got it," Yusei said, "We are on our way."

* * *

"Why did you bring us here, Sherry?" Judai stood across from Sherry on the Bridge while Yubel hovered behind him protectively. Down below, D-Wheels and cars rushed past, while the ever-calm Neo Domino Sea moved peacefully underneath them all.

The blonde-haired woman raised an eyebrow, "Would you rather we bargain while you are writhing in pain, Herald? I have no objections to that."

Judai winced, "Never mind. What do you want from me? Why do you have Pharaoh?"

"To trade." Sherry said simply, "Yuki Judai, I am sure you know of the future that is waiting for us if Synchro Monsters are allowed to progress. Destruction, desolation, and death. Surely, the Herald of Gentle Darkness would not want something like that to happen to the world."

"No, of course not."

"Then why are you still hindering Yliaster's efforts to bring about a better future? First, you and Yusei and Muto Yugi dueled and defeated Paradox. If he had succeeded, there won't even be Duel Monsters, and the bleak future that we see now would have been averted. But, I'll admit that getting rid of Pegasus and the creation of Duel Monsters was a too big a move. However, why are you meddling in our erasure of Synchro Monsters? It would not really affect your time period at all! The lives of people will continue, just not towards destruction and ruin!"

"No," Judai shook his head, "You are wrong. Without Synchro Monsters, the world would have ended before this time period even began. I don't know of this Zone-sama that you speak of, but if this whole plan is his, you had better ask him to stop meddling in affairs that he can't possibly know the consequences of. Synchro Monsters may have brought the destruction of a future, but if Synchro Monsters are never created, it will bring about the destruction of not only the future, but also the present, and the past."

Sherry narrowed her eyes, "You lie, Herald."

Judai, too, narrowed his eyes as they turned golden, "I have seen the encroaching Nothingness threatening the balance of the world, and I can tell you that it only sped up drastically after Yliaster meddled in my time period."

Sherry turned around, "I am not here to argue with you about the rights and wrongs of Synchro Monsters; I am only here to trade the lives of your cat and sensei with your cooperation; I can give them back to you if you come quietly with me."

"There is no way in the twelve dimensions I am allowing you or your master to lay a finger on my Judai!"

Sherry ignored Yubel's heated words, "I am waiting for your answer, Herald."

Judai bit his lip; on the one hand, he really wanted to could not afford to not save Pharaoh and Daitokuji-sensei, but he also had his own duty to the world as the Herald of Gentle Darkness.

"Perhaps you need a little incentive, Herald."

The yowling cat once again appeared in the blonde's strong grip, but this time Daitokuji-sensei's orb was floating in the air.

"Nya," the ancient professor's youthful voice cried out, "Don't listen to this mad woman, Judai-kun! It's way past my time to go, and I am sure Pharaoh would want it this way as well. Don't worry about us, Judai-kun! Go, run, get away from here, and never come back!"

Judai eyes widened, "Daitokuji-sensei…"

"Could you really leave your sensei and the cat here, Yuki Judai?" Sherry slowly stepped towards the edge of the Bridge, holding on to the furry tabby, with the spirit orb trailing behind, "After all, I am sure you know what's going to happen if you fail to listen to our…demands."

"NO!" Judai cried, "Please, don't…" He took a step forward.

"Judai, you can't!" Yubel grabbed on to Judai's arm, only for it to go straight through.

Sherry smiled, and suddenly let go of Pharaoh. There was a split second when the world seemed to stop and all was silent in the sphere of Time and Space...

"MEOWWW!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"Sensei! Pharaoh!"

"NO, JUDAI!"

Absolute chaos reigned as Judai dove after the falling tabby and his sensei. Yubel would have followed, but due to lack of solid form and some strange power that was keeping her from moving .

Yubel glared at Sherry and yelled heatedly, "You are doing this on purpose! You don't want Judai's cooperation; you want him dead!"

"I can't say that that isn't on our list of things-to-do, but if the Herald is this easy to kill, then I think Zone-sama would be disappointed. Guardian, shouldn't you have more faith in your charge?"

Yubel growled and continued to struggle against her invisible bonds; just as Sherry continued to look down into the glistening Sea; and Judai continued his fatal fall.

* * *

Judai had managed to catch Pharaoh, arresting Daitokuji-sensei's free fall as well, but if something didn't happen soon, the three of them were heading towards certain death.

"Judai-kun!" Daitokuji-sensei's voice was both relieved and a bit exasperated, "You shouldn't have…"

"I shouldn't have, but I did. Sensei, don't worry, I'll get us out of this mess." The fire in Judai's eyes burned as they turned golden and began to subtly glow.

Judai knew that he probably won't be able to call out his Duel Monsters if Yubel's loss of solid form was anything to go by; he could only rely on his own powers as the Supreme King. And there was that nagging feeling in the back of his mind all day, like an itch that desperately need scratching, but he just couldn't pinpoint it yet.

He supposed he could try that Space Distortion Traveling thingy, but he really wasn't sure it would work while he was in the air…

The glittering Sea rushed up at them with impossible speed. Judai closed his eyes; he needed a miracle and he needed it fast.

To the thousands of cars and D-Wheels rushing past on the Daedalus Bridge, they saw a red blur suddenly plummet downwards and just as suddenly, the blur vanished in a golden orb that shimmered with shadows and Darkness. However, for all the breathtaking beauty and power the orb exhibited, it could not defy gravity, and was pulled relentlessly into the waters with only the heart-wrenching wail of a broken Duel Monster that few could actually hear to signify any change in the fabric of the Universe.

Sherry turned away from edge of the bridge; she had seen enough. It seems like Zone-sama's fears had been unfounded; Yuki Judai was the Herald, true, but he was still too young and had too little time to have harnessed enough control over his powers. Whether he survived or not, and all signs pointed towards his demise, this surely would set back any plans he might have had, and that time would be used to further Yliaster's own plans.

A screeching of tires, and a surprised gasp, "Sherry?"

"How nice of you to join us, Yusei, Chosen of Odin" Sherry did not look at her one-time friend, now enemy, "If you are after the Herald, I am afraid you are too late."

"Sherry? What's going on? What do you mean 'too late'? How did you...Where have you been?"

"Zone-sama saved me," she interrupted, "and I intend to help him with his cause. The Herald is no more, and with him gone, Yliaster will move with more efficiency and force. I would advise you and your friends to abandon Neo Domino City while you still can. After all, this place is where it will all start and end."

"Sherry," Yusei's gaze had hardened slightly, "how could you side with the enemy? What about your revenge; what about your father and mother; what about Mizoguchi?"

Several more screeching tires as the whole gang arrived and cries of "Yusei, Harald! Sherry, what are you doing here?" were heard. However, it was Ruka's voice that carried the most urgency, "Yubel? Yubel, what's wrong?"

Ruka's small form darted between D-Wheels and duelist, hand reaching out to an invisible figure. The instant Ruka's fingers made contact, the slumped form of Yubel appeared.

"He's gone," she muttered, her three eyes wide with horror and pain, "I…couldn't protect him, and now, he's gone…"

Gasps sounded all around as the reality of the situation seemed to sink in.

Yusei rounded on Sherry, "What is the meaning of this? What have you done to Judai-san!"

Sherry ignored him, "There is nothing you can do for the Herald now. He is…"

However, words failed her as an immense presence filled the surroundings; 5 immense presences to be exact. Cards glowed in their holsters as first Stardust, then Red Demon's Dragon, followed by Black Rose Dragon and Ancient Fairy Dragon, and finally Black Feather Dragon appeared in the air above them.

"They are calling to their brethren," Ruka said in awe as she listened to their cries, "they are lending him their strength; strength to…"

A sudden _whoosh_ interrupted the haunting melody as black feathers began to fall all around them; feathers that glowed golden and disappeared just before they reached the ground.

"I am not that easy to get rid of."

Judai was floating in the air on wings of pure black, making him look like an avenging fallen angel, except angels don't normally hold a fat tabby cat in their arms. Without warning, the wings glowed golden and disappeared but Judai was able to fall gracefully to his feet.

"Judai!" Yubel was beside herself. Her invisible bonds had mysteriously dissolved, and she rushed to her young charge and hugged him close, smothering Pharaoh, who _meowed_ with indignation. "Don't ever do that again."

"Relax, Yubel," Judai gave his signature grin, and tried to pat her back, albeit awkwardly, "I'm fine. Pharaoh and sensei are both fine, too! So there is no harm done, right?"

The others kept silent, giving the two their own moment, but Rua was bursting with excitement at seeing someone fly, with wings no less!

"Wow, Judai-san! You can fly!"

The spell was broken and everyone chuckled at Rua's obvious remark.

"Well, I've been wondering when this was going to pop up; would have been helpful if I could fly when I first came here, so I didn't crash right into that duel with Aporia. You'd think Flying would be the first in Traveling, but noooo, Traveling through Space and Time was apparently more normal than Flying. Go figure."

It wasn't until later, when everything had calmed down a bit, and Judai had been thoroughly fussed over by Yubel, Daitokuji-sensei, the gang and Team Ragnarok, did anyone notice that Sherry had mysteriously disappeared.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for all your kind reviews! And a "thank you" to everyone who put me on alert or fav~ I truly appreciate it! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter~ Also, I am thinking about putting this in the crossover section for GX and 5Ds, so I'm just giving everyone a heads up, and from the next chapter onwards, this story will be moving~~

And to the anonymous review _plummy-kins_, thank you for your kind review as well~ I suppose you are referring to the italicized portions of the story? Well, (begins to chuckle nervously) like I said in the first chapter in the author's notes, this story is an experiment in a different style of writing. And those portions of the story, while irrelevant to the story of Judai and whoever he comes across in his travels, do hold meaning. Or at least I hope they will by the time this story is finished. Anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing!

Rant: So, apparently there is going to be a new Yu-Gi-Oh series coming out spring of 2011. Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal. OMG~ Wasn't 5Ds supposed to be the last one! And 5Ds is way too short. A lot of the characters did not have time to develop yet! Why do the Yu-Gi-Oh series get shorter with each new one they think up? I am going to miss 5Ds so much! Just like I miss GX and DM...But, Zexal might be interesting, so who knows? I checked up on the previews, and it seemed okay, but the whole thing seemed a bit too much like Hikaru no Go...Does anyone else think Sai when they see Asutoraru (Astral)? Duel no tensai and all...

EXTRA: I am curious, but does anyone have an idea where the inspiration for this story came from? I mean formatting and style-wise, not content-wise; that's obviously from Yu-Gi-Oh GX and 5Ds. I did say I was influenced on the sub-atomic level by my Short Fiction English class…

And a sneak peek on what's coming up next:

_Chapter Four: Without Fear of the Evils that Emerge _

_One quote that may or may not appear. Who knows, ne?_

_Quote: "What is this? The twelve presents for the twelve days of Christmas? I can hardly keep my Traveling streak in check and now they mess me up with Reading? What's next? Using my Life Force to Heal others whenever someone gets hurt with a paper cut?"_


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